Losing a dog can be one of the worst moments in a person’s life. This is what happened to Michael Joy in 2016, when he lost his dogs- three, to be exact. Although two of the lost dogs returned, the 4-month-old Lab cross who went by the name Sam was nowhere to be found. Michael did everything that he could- posted stickers and checked all of the local shelters- but he absolutely had no luck whatsoever.
But Michael didn’t give up. He stated, “I told my wife, ‘Hey, I am gonna find this dog.’ I never stopped, I always- I even still follow the shelters’ pages just in case he would’ve shown up.” After some time, Michael and his family had to relocate to Kentucky- but he never gave up hope that his beloved dog was somewhere. He kept making trips back to his hometown in Georgia- in the hopes that Sam would still be there.
Man Finds His Lost Dog After 5 Years- The Moment Will Bring Anyone To Tears
In the meantime, five years had passed, and there was no sign of his lost dog Sam. But suddenly, he received a call from City Dogs Cleveland. Michael recalled, “She goes, ‘We have Sam’. In the back of my mind, I’m going, ‘This can’t be the same Sam!’ This is Ohio! This is, like, almost to Michigan! So I’m like, ‘Can you describe him for me?’ And she said, ‘He’s a lighter-haired dog’, and I’m like ‘Where are you and when can I pick him up?’” The pet care in Cleveland had been giving his poor dog a medical exam when they chanced upon the microchip and traced him back to Michael and his family.
Michael didn’t wait any longer, and immediately made the eight-hour-long journey to Ohio- hoping that his lost dog would still recognize him. He said, “As we get up there and I’m waiting for them to pull Sam out, you can just see the anticipation in my face. I was like a kid on Christmas.” And as luck would have it, Sam was just as excited as Michael was- so much so that he couldn’t control his tail from wagging constantly, as well as jumping over Michael.
City Dogs Cleveland did upload a post on Twitter, where they wrote, “Get tissues ready for this one… Sam was dropped off by police who found him. Kennel staff scanned and found a microchip then contacted the number on file. Turns out, Sam was missing for 4 years, from Georgia! His owner drove 8 hours to get Sam in an emotional reunion.”
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